Very few things in a civilization are as important as transportation and distribution. Therefore, in a great Nation like the United States it is imperative to keep our road and highway bridge infrastructure safe and secure. From an engineering standpoint, we know all too well the results of poor infrastructure planning, and yet we must consider the potential eventualities associated with Murphy: anything that can go wrong; willpower. And it will happen at the worst possible time.
We have seen the problems with roads collapsing or infrastructure failing. Remember the San Francisco earthquake when cars fell into the bay or when Hurricane Katrina destroyed I-10, talk about a distribution nightmare for trucking companies, not to mention reduced rescue efforts. Boston’s “Big Dig” is in shambles, with lawsuits and deaths from possible collapse. If that part of the infrastructure disappears, a 10-hour commute is possible for workers at the center, not to mention all the communication infrastructure, which uses the internal cavities of the tunnels.
We often hear of highway bridges collapsing without warning, and yet such things always give at least some warning and we should be listening. With ultrasonic, infrared and other high-tech tools to alert us to wear and excess stress in iron and concrete. A perfect example of a recent problem is the collapse of I-35 during rush hour, when the headlines appeared on the wire:
MINNEAPOLIS – A four-lane interstate bridge spanning the Mississippi River collapsed during the afternoon rush hour Wednesday, sending vehicles and tons of concrete into the water. The entire span of the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed around 6:05 p.m. There was no official word on injuries, but dozens of rescue vehicles were there. (from USA Today media alert online).
We spent nearly a trillion dollars on our transportation bills over a decade, we need more high technology built into these infrastructures to keep us safe and America moving so think about this.
